I'll be there for you (coz you're there for me too)
by rebeccaskyeward12
Summary: Skye met Jemma Simmons when she was only twelve years old. And it was very lucky for her, indeed.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N Need some Skimmons fluff after the angst of the show. Oh my croft! That last ep though!**_

The first time Skye met Jemma Simmons, it was very lucky for her.

She was twelve years old and walking down the road back from school, a melancholy expression on her face. The people at her school were making fun of her again; calling her names because she was an orphan. It wasn't _her_

fault her parents didn't want her, she'd told them, but they'd just laughed some more and called her useless and unwanted.

As she was walking down previously mentioned road, she wasn't looking where she was going and walked into something solid. As she slowly looked up, a look of fear and dread crossed her face. Standing in front of her was GrantWard, the hardest kid in the school, who just happened to be the leader of the gang who made fun of her.

A malicious grin spread across his face and he cracked his knuckles, a sign that he wanted to punch something, and Skye, knowing that the nearest thing to him was her, turned to run the opposite way, so she could find a different route back to the Orphanage. However, he grabbed her arm anddragged her into a suspiciously close alleyway.

She tried to scream, but he put a surprisingly large hand for a sixteen year old over her mouth and told her that if she gave a single hint to anyone that she was being hurt, he would personally make sure she ended upin hospital. She nodded, fearfully, knowing that he would definitely keep his promise.

Ward grinned and took his hand from her mouth and she knew she should have run away the second she ran into him.

"So then, Mary Sue. Let's have a little fun, shall we?" he hissed, menacingly, and Skye felt her blood turn cold with fear.

He punched her in the face and she fell to the ground, clutching her face, him laughing over her. "Told you you were useless. You can't even put up afight to protect yourself." he sneered, kicking her in the ribs, repeatedly.

At some point, she heard a crack and Grant stopped kicking her, grinning in satisfaction. She started whimpering at the pain, letting a few tears roll down her face. Ward heard her and got angry, kicking her in the stomach, hard, making her groan.

He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to her feet. "So, Poots, a little birdie told me you were a lezzer?" he snarled, then laughed at her confused expression, "You like girls. You know, God said himself that hewas against gay people, so you, Mary Sue, deserve this." he told her, before bringing out a knife he had apparently hidden in his pocket.

"God isn't against gay people." Skye said, defiantly, "Sister Bernadette said that everyone is equal! She said that God loves us all, no matter what." she was stalling and Grant knew that. She was trying to hide her fear for the shiny metal in Grant's hand by acting brave, but they both knew it wasn't working.

"What a load of sap!" he spat, advancing on her, backing her against the wall of the alley, "If you're a good girl and don't make much noise and let me do this, I might just hurt you a little bit less, eh?"

He put the knife up to her cheek and dragged it along in a line, making a deep cut. The blood trickled down her face and Skye did her best not to scream. He laughed at her expression, obviously enjoying watching her in pain.

\\(^_^)/

Jemma Simmons was walking back from Fitz's house after trying to help him figure out how much carbon peroxide he would have to use to make an experiment work, when she heard some laughing and soft crying from inside an alley. She got scared and debated whether or not she should go in, after all, she could get killed... Or worse... Expelled.

After debating with herself for a few moments, she decided to see what was happening in there, after all, someone could be getting hurt.

She turned the corner and gasped at the sight. Grant Ward, the 'hard kid' in her school was standing over a young girl, who was cowering on the floor and bleeding! He was holding a knife in one hand and was wearing a sly smirk on his face. "See, you deserve this. There was a reason your parents deserted you and that's because they couldn't stand the sight of you, you useless bitch!" he shouted at her and she whimpered again.

Jemma was amazed the girl wasn't passed out, or at least crying hysterically because, on closer inspection, she could see that her face was covered in deep cuts and bruises. However, looking past that, the girl was beautiful. She hard long, wavy, brown hair and big doe eyes. She was very skinny, probably too skinny for a girl who couldn't be older than twelve.

Jemma had to do something! Grant Ward was beating up this girl who, most likely, hadn't done anything wrong. She couldn't go and get her parents, that would take too long, she couldn't go back to Fitz's either. So she did the only thing she could think of.

She ran at Ward and jumped on his back and forcefully took the knife from his hand and threw it on the floor. She then bashed his head into the wall and he fell unconscious, probably with concussion, Jemma thought. Good.

Jemma approached the young girl, who was shivering and shaking, and Jemma wasn't surprised. "Are you alright?" she asked. The girl nodded and stood up, wincing slightly.

"I've had worse." she said huskily, and Jemma noticed some of her ribs were protruding from her t-shirt, obviously broken. The girl checked her watch and her eyes opened in surprise, "Dammit. I have to get back. They'll kill me." she muttered, "Bye and thanks." she quickly walked out of the alley, but Jemma grabbed her arm.

\\(^_^)/

Skye quickly jerked her arm out of Jemma's grasp and puts her hands up in a defensive position, before noticing the softness in her eyes. "You can't go home like that, you're too hurt." Jemna insisted.

"I can't. I'm late enough as it is. They'll kill me for being late." Skye replied. She didn't want to bring this girl into it.

"No. Look, my parents will call yours when we get back to my house. It's just down the road. Please. My parents are experienced doctors, so they can patch you up and fix your ribs. Then, while you're waiting for someone to pick you up, you can tell me what happened. Okay?" Jemma offered. Skye was about to refuse, but the sincere look of concern in Jemma's eyes and the fact that her ribs were actually really starting to hurt made her nod in agreement to Jemma's plan.

Jemma smiled contentedly and started walking down the road, Skye following behind her. "Sorry, but what's your name?" Skye spoke up from behind her.

"Jemma. Jemma Simmons. And you?"

Skye fidgeted for a moment, trying to think of a different name for her to use. After all, she wasn't going to tell this really pretty girl that her name was _Mary Sue Poots_ was she? Jemma Simmons might take back her promise to look after her.

"Ma... I don't have one. Not really. The name I have isn't my real name and I hate it anyway." she told Jemma, trying to avoid telling her her real name.

Jemma nodded, "Okay, so what would you like to be called, then? A nickname?" she asked.

Skye was grateful that Jemma didn't press for answers about her Orphanage-given name and pondered what she wanted to be called, before deciding on a name and smiling.

"Skye."


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: I am so, so sorry for the wait! I had school and stuff, it was very hectic. Anyway, I'm back now. :) Hope you like this chapter, please R&amp;R!_**

"Skye." Jemma grinned, "That's a beautiful name. How old are you, Skye?"

Skye picked at her nails and muttered, "Twelve."  
"Twelve?!" Jemma asked, astounded, "That is literally impossible! You can't have that high of a pain endurance level at only _twelve_! That is physically impossible! I mean, I thought you were maybe a small teenager! But _twelve_! Wow... I'm fourteen. But wow! Anyway, sorry, you're hurt. Let's go." Jemma stopped herself from rambling and blushed, before walking back to her house, checking behind her every so often to make sure Skye was still following.  
When they got to Jemma's house and she knocked on the door, her parents opened the door with a warm smile at their daughter, before turning their attention to the pale-skinned young girl with cuts and bruises all over her arms and face. "Jemma, who is this?" Simmons' mother asked, referring to Skye.  
"Oh. This is Skye. I'm sorry, but Grant Ward attacked her and I stepped in to stop him. She got hurt pretty badly before I got there, though, and needs medical attention, so I thought to bring her here, as you're both doctors." Jemma explained to her parents.  
Jemma's parents smiled warmly at Skye, who fidgeted a bit. "Come on in, dear. We'll help." they said.  
Jemma led the way into her house, and Skye followed after, gasping at the splendour of it all. The house was the most marvellous thing she had ever seen, except Jemma herself.  
Jemma noticed her astonished look and smiled a bit.  
"Skye, what's your parents' number, so I can call them and tell them where you are, so they won't worry?" Jemma's dad asked.  
Skye muttered the orphanage's phone number, her eyes never leaving the floor, and Jemma's father punched the number into the phone and put it against his ear.  
"Hello? St Agnes' Orphanage." came the voice from the other end.  
Jemma's dad looked shocked for a bit, then regained his composure, "Sorry, but my name is Dr. Chandler Simmons. A girl named Skye was brought here by my daughter a few minutes ago. She was attacked on her way home."  
"Skye? We don't have a- oh. You mean Mary-Sue? So that's where she's been. Tell her she's in big trouble- she was supposed to be on washing-up duty, but Janie had to do it instead and she doesn't look very pleased."  
"Right... Well, she needs medical attention. Me and my wife are doctors, so we can help her. She should be home in half an hour, an hour at the most." Chandler replied.  
"An hour? Well... Okay. But tell her this better not happen again. She's out past her curfew, yet again." the exasperated voice said.  
Chandler nodded, then hung up. He looked down to tell Skye, or Mary-Sue, the verdict, but found that her, Jemma and his wife were in the kitchen.

"So my name's Monica, and that's my husband, Chandler, Skye." Monica smiled at Skye, who was sitting on a chair in the kitchen.  
Skye nodded and looked at her hands.  
"I'm going to have to ask you a few questions whilst I'm fixing you, and you'll have to tell me if it hurts, is that alright?" Skye nodded again.  
Monica cleaned the cuts on her arms first, stitching up the deep ones, making Skye wince and sometimes gasp in pain.  
Monica started putting her hands in different places on Skye's torso, noting whenever Skye winced or cried out slightly.  
"So, Skye, Jemma said it was Grant Ward who attacked you?" Monica asked, after a minute or two of examining her.  
Skye looked up, evidently surprised that someone was talking to her, and Monica could see the cogs turning in her brain whilst she processed what had just been said to her.  
"Y-Yeah. He came up to me when I was walking back from school. Then he dragged me into an alley. He warned me not to speak, or he'd hurt me even more." she told Monica and Jemma gaped.  
She had a really beautiful voice. Jemma had only heard her speak in one-word answers so far and it was a shame. Her voice was really pretty. She should speak more, Jemma decided.  
Monica nodded. "We'll call the school when Chandler's off the phone, okay, hun?"  
"No, don't!" she shouted, startling everyone, including herself, "He'll hurt me again!"  
"Sweetie, he'll never hurt you again." Monica smiled.  
Skye mumbled something along the lines of, 'You don't know that.' before settling in her seat.  
"Well, dear, you have one broken rib, two cracked ribs, and a dislocated shoulder. I'm going to have to pop that back in place, then you'll have to wear a sling for three weeks. You know, it:s remarkable that you held on for that long! How old are you again, twelve? Wow... Have you gotten in many fights?" she asked.  
"Yeah, I-" she started, before Monica grabbed her arm and yanked her shoulder back into place.  
Skye let out a quiet scream and backed away from Monica and Jemma.  
"I'm so sorry, dear. I had to do it when you weren't expecting it. We need to put a sling on and patch up your ribs." Monica told her.  
Jemma stood there, biting her lip. Skye looked so afraid and so small, trying to shrink herself into the wall. It was quite adorable.  
Well, that was until Monica tried to touch her again and she yelped, jumping up off the seat and running for the door, holding her arm the whole time and evidently trying not to breathe.

Skye held her breath as she ran through the house, since breathing hurt her ribs. She ran past Chandler and through the front door.  
She ran all the way to the orphanage, before leaning against the wall and breathing deeply, really hurting her ribs in the process. The nice man, Jim The Caretaker, opened the door and smiled at her, before frowning when he saw her condition.  
"Inhaler?" he asked her and she nodded, trying to breathe as much as possible without hurting her ribs.  
A few seconds later, Skye was inside and leaning against the door and Jim had returned with her inhaler.  
"What happened to you, kid?" he asked, "It's seven o' clock."  
She took two puffs of her inhaler before replying.  
"Kid in my school... Hit me... And cut me... He was one of those... Stereotypical popular douches... Ya know?" she said, in between breaths and Jim shook his head in distaste.  
"'Hate those types of kids." he said, "Have you had that looked at?"  
Skye nodded. "I have two severe cuts, lots of not-so-severe cuts, a broken rib, two cracked ribs, and my shoulder was dislocated, but it just needs a sling now." she told him.  
"And how do you know that, hm?"  
"I just do."  
"Really? Because Sister Agatha told me a nice girl found you and took you back to her place to get fixed up. Her parents are doctors. Now, either they are terrible doctors, or you ran away from them." he stated in a disproving tone.  
She bit her lip and looked down.  
"When... When she relocated my shoulder, it hurt and I started think I was back _there_, so I panicked and ran." she muttered, tears welling up in her eyes for, remarkably, the first time that day.  
Jim's features softened and he knelt in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Hey. Look at me." he said, softly. She sniffed and slowly lifter her head to look at him. "You are never, _ever_ going back there again. Okay, Skye? I will never let you go back. You will never have to go through that again. You know, in those conditions, with that much suffering, an average person from your age to 19 would be dead. But you didn't die there, Skye. You know why? Because you're strong. So strong. Strong enough to know that you're never going back there again, okay?" he comforted her.  
The tears now started rolling freely down her face and she hugged Jim with all her might. Jim was shocked, since this was the first time in a year and a half since Skye had shown any affection, and Jim was both honoured and proud.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N Hello everyone! Thankyou for all the fantastic reviews! You guys are the best! I have a little more written, so I'll hopefully update a little sooner next time. Enjoy!**_  
Skye had gotten an eye roll and an obviously fake smile off Sister Maragarie when Jim guided her through the front doors of the orphanage.  
"Sister Agatha wants to speak to you. Wants to know the full story. And maybe we should take you to a hospital, yeah?" Jim told her, concern lacing his voice.  
Skye sighed. "Fine. But no hospitals. I hate hospitals. They're too clean."  
"Fine. But we're at least going to go back this Simmons' house to apologise for you rash behaviour tomorrow." he said.  
After a moment, Skye nodded in defeat and Jim put his hand on her back and guided her up the stairs to Sister Agatha's office.

"So you're saying she lied about her name?"  
"Yep. Her name's Mary Sue. She's from the orphanage two blocks away."  
Jemma's parents were in deep discussion over Skye that night, when Jemma herself was just sat on the couch, looking bored.  
"So she just took off?"  
"Yes, the second I relocated her arm, she was off like a rocket."  
"Well maybe she thought you were trying to hurt her?"  
"Yeah, but I'd never do that."  
"What should we do?"  
"How about we go over to the orphanage in the morning and talk to her?" Jemma sighed, exasperated.  
"Actually, that's not a bad idea." Monica acknowledged, "Well done, sweetie. Ok then, time to go to bed."  
Jemma rolled her eyes and left the room. She traipsed up the stairs, thinking about Skye. She had been very pretty for just a twelve year old. And her features were very defined too, though there was a sadness in her eyes that Jemma couldn't quite place.  
When she went to bed, Jemma was still thinking about Skye, or *_Mary Sue_*. She could see why she had given a fake name, to be honest. She still didn't know why the younger girl had run off. Sure, relocating limbs is painful, but the girl seemed pretty brave, and had gone through a lot of pain before that with what Grant Ward had done to her. Jemma was absolutely horrified at how someone could do that to another human being in good conscience, with apparently no reason at all. It might've had something to do with the fact that Skye was an orphan, Jemma acknowledged, but then, that's no reason to do *_that_* to someone. Jemma just shook her head and closed her eyes.

As Skye traipsed up the stairs to Sister Agatha's office, she thought about the pretty girl with the pretty eyes who had saved her from, quite probably, being killed. She was really kind and had beautiful, chestnut hair and a really pretty smile. Because of her fantasising over Jemma, she wasn't looking where she was going and walked into the door frame outside te office.  
"Ouch. Jeez." she muttered, rubbing her head with one hand and knocking on the door with the other.  
"Come in." a curt voice replied.  
Skye pushed the door open, still holding her head and sat down opposite the nun.  
"Mary Sue..." Sister Agatha started.  
"It's Skye. I go by Skye." she argued, before Sister Agatha had even started her sentence properly.  
"*_Mary Sue_*," she continued, to which Skye rolled her eyes, "I got a call from a Mr... Chandler Simmons, I think?... And he said you were, what's the word, 'attacked'?"  
"Yeah. Grant Ward. From my school. He's a dick head." Skye replied, rolling her eyes when the nun gasped at her curse.  
"Mary, you know we don't tolerate swearing in this establishment." she scolded.  
"Yeah. I know. But it's true. Anyway, Jim said I should go to the hospital, or the police, but we don't need to, right?" Skye asked.  
"You should make friends your own age, Mary. Instead of only ever talking to the janitor." Sister Agatha reprimanded, rolling her eyes.  
"Well, I would, but 1), Jim's really nice, and 2), all the girls here are all really bitchy." Skye deadpanned.  
The nun rolled her eyes at Skye swearing and continued, "The girl and her family, the Simmons'. Are you sure you didn't burden them or stop them from doing anything important while you were there, Mary?"  
"I don't think so, they seemed pretty nice and welcoming when I was there." Skye shrugged.  
"Okay, good. You're dismissed." the sister told her.  
"Finally." Skye muttered, before standing up and abruptly leaving.  
She made her way to the room that she shared with four other girls, only to find them all sitting up and staring at her. It felt like when she was late for class and everyone turned to look at her like she was an alien.  
She ignored them and made her way to her own bed, but Janie grabbed her by the wrist and threw her on the floor with a thud.  
"Where were you, Mary?" the 14 year old asked.  
Skye couldn't reply, due the pain the throwing had caused in her ribs, and the fact that the wind had just been knocked out of her.  
Janie kicked her in the side.  
"I said, where have you been, you little bitch?!" she shouted louder, kicking Skye twice, hard.  
Skye gasped as immense pain shot through her torso, probably causing even more damage to her ribs.  
"I was... Attacked. Janie... Please... Please stop." she told the older girl in between gasps.  
Janie grinned and stopped kicking her.  
"Okay. Good. Go to bed now." she ordered, hopping back into her own bed and pulling the covers up over herself.  
Skye stood up shakily, stumbling as she walked over to her area, elicting a few snickers from the girls.  
She laid down on her back, the only way she could lie down without excruciating pain ripping through her chest. She held her injured arm against her stomach and closed her eyes.

Skye couldn't move that night. If she did, she hurt her ribs and, though she'd suffered worse in her time, but she really didn't need to damage her ribs anymore. 'God, I should've fought back against him.' she thought, wistfully, 'If you had fought back against him, you would be in even more trouble!' the rational side of her mind countered. 'You could be lying down comfortably, already asleep.' 'He's sixteen, for crying out loud! Four years older than you! What were you supposed to do?'.  
Soon, her mind turned to Jemma Simmons, the pretty, brave, British girl who rescued her. Though she agreed with Jim that manners were only polite and that she probably should thank the Simmonses and apologise to them for running off when they were just trying to be helpful, she didn't really want to see them again. After all, they could be mad at her and she didn't want that.

As Jemma lay in bed, the only thing she could think of was Skye. The beautiful twelve year old who had quite obviously seen more trauma than Jemma had in her whole life. Her eyes held a sad, gloomy look, heavier than anyone's eyes she had ever seen before, and she always looked at the floor.  
The fourteen year old thought it unfair that the younger girl had had to go through so much, even if she didn't know what it was.  
Jemma fell asleep that night wondering what happened to Skye to make her eyes so empty.


End file.
